Firefighters free driver in Pine Island Road crash

November 21, 2013

A single vehicle crash shut down Pine Island Road Thursday evening but the driver escaped injury.

Around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday Cape Coral firefighters responded to an overturned vehicle with the driver trapped inside in the 2300 block of Pine Island Road near Saddlewood Lane. When firefighters arrived they found a pick-up truck on its roof and a nurse on scene reporting a female trapped inside.

Firefighters immediately used blocks of wood called cribbing to stabilize the vehicle and after making contact with the driver, broke out the windows. The driver was able to crawl out on her own and denied any injury. She was evaluated by paramedics as a precaution. Firefighter Paramedic Eric Noble from Squad 8 said that the driver was wearing her seatbelt and that visual evidence at the scene indicated the truck was eastbound on Pine Island Road when it left the roadway and overturned.

Kassie Shelley, a registered nurse and paramedic who works for Hope Hospice, was driving by and happened upon the crash. "When I pulled up there were people around but nobody knew what to do," she said. "I was able to speak to her and touch her hand and make sure she was OK until the firefighters arrived."

Law enforcement is handling the crash investigation and can provide additional information as needed. In this situation, firefighters were able to rescue the driver by taking out the glass and did not require the Jaws of Life to remove her.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Florida has a higher than national average for seatbelt use with 87.4 percent of vehicle passengers buckled up in Florida in 2012. That is 0.7 percent lower than in 2011 which showed 88.1 percent compliance in 2011. The damage to the cab of the truck in this crash was significant and anytime there is a rollover crash the risk of serious injury rises dramatically for occupants not wearing seatbelts, officials said.